Why “Valentine” ? This recipe was inspired by one that Valentine Warner did on “What to eat now” – a seasonal ingredient cooking programme that I particularly enjoyed. Courgettes are one of those veg that go a tad prolific in season – you pick a load for dinner and by morning you could be having the next lot for breakfast. This version of the recipe is quick & easy – great for a veg side dish, a salad for summer buffet, and combines quickly with other veggie dishes too.
Ingredients (Serves 6)
3 Courgettes
1 lemon
3 cloves of garlic
Salt
2 tbl Olive oil
Handful of fresh basil
First ribbon your courgettes. Ribbon? Grab a potato peeler, hold your courgette flat and make long thin ribbony courgette pieces. If you rotate the courgette you can get a good load of it used up in ribbons, then you’ll probably end up with the central seedy bit left. Chop that up & add it in too, or bung it in some soup.
Crush the garlic, juice the lemon. Mix 2 tbl of olive oil, about 3/4 of the lemon juice together and add the crushed garlic cloves.
Add a bit more olive oil to a large frying pan, and cook the courgette ribbons gently until starting to go soft but still holding a little bit of texture.
Take off the heat, sprinkle with salt, pour over your lemony mixture, and shred the basil over the whole lot. Mix everything lightly together, leave for a few minutes and taste – adjust seasoning till you have a good tasty lemony garlicky basily yum. It often needs a little more salt, sometimes a little more lemon.
Want a quick veggie meal? Simply heat up some cooked chick peas, boil up some new potatoes or rice, and smother the whole dish with warm valentine courgettes.
